Thomas Frank
Thomas Frank | |
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Frank at the 2010 Texas Book Festival | |
Born |
Thomas Carr Frank March 21, 1965 Kansas City, Missouri, United States |
Residence | Bethesda, Maryland, United States |
Nationality | United States |
Alma mater | University of Virginia (B.A.) University of Chicago (M.A., Ph.D.) |
Occupation | Political analyst, columnist, historian, journalist |
Known for | Co-founder of The Baffler, culture war author |
Notable work | What's the Matter with Kansas? |
Thomas Carr Frank (born March 21, 1965) is an American political analyst, historian, and journalist. He co-founded and edited The Baffler magazine. Frank has written several books, most notably What's the Matter with Kansas? (2004) and Listen, Liberal (2016). From 2008 to 2010 he wrote "The Tilting Yard", a column in the Wall Street Journal.
A historian of culture and ideas, Frank analyzes trends in American electoral politics and propaganda, advertising, popular culture, mainstream journalism, and economics. His topics include the rhetoric and impact of culture wars in American political life and the relationship between politics and culture in the United States.
Politics
Frank was originally a College Republican,[1] but he has come to be highly critical of conservatism, especially the presidency of George W. Bush. Frank summarized the thesis of his book The Wrecking Crew: How Conservatives Rule as "Bad government is the natural product of rule by those who believe government is bad."[2]
Frank's other writings include essays for Harper's Magazine, Le Monde diplomatique, Bookforum, and the Financial Times. His book What's the Matter with Kansas?, published in 2004, earned him nationwide and international recognition.
Since December 2010, Frank has written the monthly "Easy Chair" column for Harper's Magazine, alternating bi-monthly with Rebecca Solnit.[3]
Frank has called President Donald Trump "the worst politician ever" and argued that Trump could win the 2020 American Presidential election.[4] He believes that "quasi-fascist movements" are springing up around the globe.[5]
Personal life
Frank was born in Kansas City, Missouri and grew up in Mission Hills, Kansas. He graduated from Shawnee Mission East High School, and in 1988 from the University of Virginia with a Bachelor of Arts degree in history after transferring from the University of Kansas in his freshman year. Frank received a Master of Arts degree in history in 1990 and a doctorate in history in 1994 from the University of Chicago. He lives in Bethesda, Maryland, with his wife and children.
Bibliography
Books
- Frank, Thomas (1997). The Conquest of Cool: Business Culture, Counterculture, and the Rise of Hip Consumerism. University of Chicago Press.
- One Market Under God: Extreme Capitalism, Market Populism, and the End of Economic Democracy (2000) ISBN 0-385-49503-X
- New Consensus for Old: Cultural Studies from Left to Right (2002) ISBN 0-9717575-4-2
- Boob Jubilee: The Cultural Politics of the New Economy (2003) ISBN 0-393-32430-3
- What's the Matter with Kansas? How Conservatives Won the Heart of America (2004). Henry Holt and Co. ISBN 978-1-4299-0032-4
- What's the Matter with America? The Resistible Rise of the American Right (2006) ISBN 0-09-949293-8
- The Wrecking Crew: How Conservatives Rule (2008), Henry Holt and Co. ISBN 0-8050-7988-2
- Pity the Billionaire: The Hard-Times Swindle and the Unlikely Comeback of the Right (2011) ISBN 978-0-8050-9369-8
- Listen, Liberal: Or, What Ever Happened to the Party of the People? (2016) ISBN 978-1-6277-9539-5
- Rendezvous with Oblivion: Reports from a Sinking Society (2018)
Essays and reporting
- Frank, Thomas (November 2012). "All the rage". Easy Chair. Harper's. 325 (1950): 6, 8–9.
- Frank, Thomas (January 12, 2018). "Secret Money: How Trump Made Millions Selling Condos To Unknown Buyers." BuzzFeed News.
See also
- The Trap (TV Documentary Series): Frank features in the BBC documentary.
- What's the Matter with Kansas?, a 2009 documentary film produced by Joe Winston and Laura Cohen. The film was inspired by Frank's book of the same name; Frank appears in the film and receives a writing credit.
- "American Feud: A History of Conservatives and Liberals" includes interviews with Frank speaking about the division between "red states" and "blue states" and other aspects of American politics.
References
- ↑ http://www.goodreads.com/interviews/show/16.Thomas_Frank
- ↑ "Bill Moyers interviews Thomas Frank". pbs.org. PBS. August 1, 2008. Retrieved August 3, 2016.
- ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2010-08-19. Retrieved 2010-08-06.
- ↑
- ↑
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Thomas Frank. |
Wikiquote has quotations related to: Thomas Frank |
- Tom Frank official website
- Website for Thomas Frank's book Listen, Liberal
- Thomas Frank Author Page, Henry Holt and Company
- Appearances on C-SPAN
- Thomas Frank column index in Harper's
- "What's The Matter With What's The Matter With Kansas" [sic]; The Nation; October 11, 2005
- Study (pdf) argues that the white working class hasn't moved right and that "moral values" are not pushing them to vote Republican.
- Class is Dismissed Thomas Frank's reply to Bartels' study, "What's The Matter With What's The Matter With Kansas".
- New Consensus for Old: Cultural Studies from Left to Right 26 page book/pamphlet put out by Prickly Paradigm in Fall 2002.
- PBS's NOW with Bill Moyers An interview on What's the Matter With Kansas?
- Thomas Frank on IMDb
- Frank giving speech at "Hostile Takeover"
- Opinion article in the Wall Street Journal written by Frank
- VIDEO: Thomas Frank, Aug. 14, 2008, The Wrecking Crew: How Conservatives Rule, presentation at Powell's Books in Portland, Oregon, from recent book tour.
- 2009 Thomas Frank interview with Jon Niccum
- VIDEO: Thomas Frank discusses Pity the Billionaire on January 5, 2012, on WGBH's Forum Network.
- Thomas Frank interview on February 13, 2012, on the History News Network.